


A Steam Powered Mystery

by ScorpioSnoopy666



Category: Gravity Falls, Steam Powered Giraffe
Genre: Based on a roleplay, Confessions, Dipcifica?, F/M, Guitarist, Hiding, Honeybee - Freeform, Mystery Twins, a man made of metal, new friends and new adventures, robots in oregon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2017-10-11
Packaged: 2018-10-23 10:17:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10717431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScorpioSnoopy666/pseuds/ScorpioSnoopy666
Summary: It seemed like a normal day at Gravity Falls; Mabel Pines was in the Mystery Shack where she lived with her twin brother Dipper and her great Uncles Stanley and Stanford Pines.Dipper runs in to tell her about a new scientific discovery, and both go to investigate; it was a robotic guitarist with a titanium-alloy spine and silvery build, the male automaton was known as The Spine from the band Steam Powered Giraffe.After their initial shock, Dipper and Mabel have to do what they can to protect their new metal friend (with the help of Pacifica Northwest).Can they keep him a secret or will he be sent back to San Diego?





	1. Author's note!

Yo! Author's note slap bang before the next chapter. Hooray(!) XD  
I hope you enjoy "A Steam Powered Mystery", a Steam Powered Giraffe and Gravity Falls crossover. Most of the events in the story will be between Mabel, Dipper, Pacifica and The Spine.  
If you don't know about either of the fandoms, go check them out because they are awesome!

Anyways, hope you enjoy the rest of the story!!


	2. Friend or foe?

Ah, Gravity Falls, Oregon.  
A place where many bizarre and amazing creatures capered, living alongside humans in one way or another.  
Where the golden sun lit up the sky above the towering forests and vast mountains, casting golden rays on the town and waterfall near the abandoned mine rail.  
A place where random chaos as well as supernatural events can strike at any time. It was a nice town with quirky residents, to say the least, all living alongside the weirdness that conspired in the town, producing creatures such as multi-limbed farm animals and rainbow-puking gnomes.

In the forest near the road heading into the main part of town was a large wooden shack with grass surrounding it, a huge sign on the top of the roof that said "MYSTERY SHACK" with the "S" missing.  
Inside of it, a girl with long brown hair and green eyes wearing a magenta shooting star jumper was inside the attic bedroom, looking through her scrapbooks and listening to music on her phone, one earbud dangling over her shoulder.  
It wasn't long before the door of the attic crashed open, revealing her twin brother, Dipper.

His cheeks were red from running and he held onto his knees as he stood up, trying to slow down his oxygen intake, taking in staccato breaths.  
"Mabel!....I found something....outside!" he exclaimed, huffing and puffing.  
Mabel yanked the earbuds out and placed them along with her phone and scrapbook aside, walking hurriedly up to her brother, a look of concern plastered on her face.  
"Whoa, Dipper! are you ok? do you want a glass of water?" she asked, a little worried about her brother.  
Mabel placed a hand on Dipper's shoulder and looked at his face; despite being out of breath, he had the widest and most cheerful grin she had ever seen all summer.  
'He must have found something again' the brunette female thought.  
"Whew! sorry, just *huff* ran all the way back here. I *huff* wanted to get you before you missed the discovery" he panted, straightening up and dusting himself off.  
"But seriously, it's so awesome!! I know you're not a big of a fan of robots as you are vampires and unicorns, but you need to check it out!"  
Mabel chuckled awkwardly. "Heh, yeah, unicorns(!)" she cringed, remembering the encounter with a herd of unicorns. The fight between them.

Dipper raised an eyebrow at her expression, but then looked hopeful once more.  
"Please can you come with me?" he asked.  
Mabel sighed heavily.  
"Fiiiiine! I'll come. But it's usually you and Ford that should be into stuff like this" she whined. Dipper grabbed her hand.  
"Come on! come on!" Dipper said in excitement, practically dragging Mabel through the town.  
"I wonder if he's still here?" he pondered. Mabel gulped softly.

Dipper and Mabel kept walking for a little while until they reached the tent of telepathy, Mabel feeling an uneasy twisting in her stomach, as if something bad was going to happen.  
"W-wait! Dipper! w-what if this robot is working for Gideon?" Mabel asked; a shiver skittered down her spine as she remembered the towering Gideon-bot that terrorized them earlier that summer, almost killing them both.  
If it wasn't for Mabel's grappling hook, they would have been as good as dead!

Dipper didn't seem to be fazed though.  
"Aha! there he is!" Dipper declared, Mabel heard him and walked to his side behind the tent of telepathy.

There standing before them, frozen in stasis, was a towering and intimidating-looking figure.  
He looked silver as if he was made out of some kind of metal with small gaps in the appendages to show the curves and joints in his hands and neck, his eyes were ringed with black and shut. His body was slouched, his head tilted down and knees bent, the brim of the fedora shadowing his face.  
A black guitar was strapped onto his back and he wore a posh black suit and red tie; silver squares were down his back, resembling a spine.

Mabel was astonished!


	3. Back-stories (no pun intended)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mabel and Dipper are shocked to find The Spine in the sleepy Oregon town, and ask about how he got there

Mabel circled the robot, her green eyes sparkled in awe as she took in his formal appearance.

"Wow! what a fancy robot man!" she exclaimed giddily, any suspicions or worries of the white-haired Gleeful male ebbing away. Dipper was grinning widely, staring in wonder at the majestic-looking being.

"Do you think we can touch it?" she asked, looking at Dipper who stared up at the male's chiseled face.  
"I don't see why not" Dipper said with a shrug, walking towards the back of the automaton, trying to see if there was something to activate him.

Success!  
There was a power switch on his back.  
"Aha!" Dipper gasped, flicking it on; there was a whir, clicks and a few hisses as the gears started turning, although she couldn't deny that if there was a switch to have been pressed, she would've been the first one to flip it.  
"Dipper!" Mabel huffed, grabbing Dipper by the wrist and pulling him back, a little wary of the sounds being emitted by the metal man.

A loud clanking sound followed by a hiss was heard as the robot straightened up and exhaled a small cloud of steam.  
His photo-receptor eyes opened, displaying their brilliant emerald green hue, a serious expression on his face.

He looked around briefly, one eyebrow raised.  
"This isn't Walter Robotics" the automaton said in a suave baritone voice. Mabel was surprised at how smooth his voice was.  
Dipper stared wide-eyed, only to have the silver male look down at them.  
"Ah. Hello there, my name's The Spine. It's a pleasure to meet you" The Spine declared with a tip of his fedora. His movements were jagged and robotic.  
"Walter Robotics. Was that the place you were made at, u-um, Mister Spine?" Mabel asked, staring up at The Spine in fascination.  
"Why yes, young miss. What are your names if I may ask?" Spine returned, the soft glow in his optics seemed comforting and friendly, making the twins a little more at ease around him.  
"I'm Mabel, and this is my twin brother, Mason. But he goes by Dipper!" Mabel stated in an excited tone, Dipper waved shyly.  
"Hee hee! a man made entirely of metal! and I thought these Braces were bad" the female Pines twin laughed, The Spine letting out a soft chuckle in response; both the twins seemed sweet in their own ways, a warm feeling running through his wires and core.  
"S-So, The Spine! is it ok if I ask you, like, a billion questions?" Dipper asked, clicking his pen out of habit. The Spine was silent, looking down at the boy.  
"Dipper! don't overload him! you'll make him overheat or something!" Mabel exclaimed, mimicking an explosion with her hands and gesturing to Spine.  
"No I won't! I just wanna find out some stuff about him, that's all!" Dipper argued with a light pout.  
"Yes you will!"  
"No I won't!"

Spine sighed, letting out some more greyish-white steam.  
Watching Mabel and Dipper bickering reminded him of Hatchworth and Rabbit back home.  


"Yes you will!"  
"No I won't!" Dipper frowned and placed his hands on his hips. "Can I ask you some things anyway?" he asked, turning to The Spine.  
A whir noise occurred as The Spine inclined his head to the right, an amused smirk on his face.  
"Course you can, Dipper" he replied.  
In an instant, Dipper asked question after question, scribbling down Spine's answers in a blank page of his journal.  
"What do you do, anyways?"  
"Ah! that I can tell you easily! I perform with my brother and sister in a band, as we're programmed to be singing musical automatons. Collectively, we're known as Steam Powered Giraffe!" The Spine said proudly.  
"So that explains the guitar..." Dipper gasped in understanding, only to feel Mabel's hand clamp over his mouth.  
"'Steam Powered Giraffe'?! Is there an actual giraffe in the band?!" Mabel squealed.  
"Eeh, kinda. She doesn't really perform, but we do have a small steam powered giraffe in our group called GG" Spine explained; he swiveled the black guitar around so he held it securely as if he was going to play it, tuning it and plucking the strings.  
"It's a girl?!?! AWESOME!!" Mabel blurted out.  
She removed her hand from her brother's mouth with a wide grin, Dipper trying to re-gain his bearings after Mabel's excited outburst.  
"Thank you, Mabel" Spine smiled, strumming his guitar a few times to make sure it was in tune. Dipper tilted his head, unaware he was staring at The Spine working on the instrument for a good few seconds, until they locked onto each other's gaze.  
"Any requests?" Spine inquired calmly, snapping Dipper out of his stupor.  
"Huh? O-oh! anything is fine!" he said absent-mindedly, Mabel giggled.  
"Even Disco Girl?" she teased, Dipper pouted.  
Spine chuckled softly, playing the small Disco Girl riff on his guitar, earning a small round of applause.  



	4. Look what we have here!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pacifica rocks up, but is she all she seems?  
> *Warning; a little sad but a little fluffy too*

"So, Mabel. What is this place I ended up in anyhow?" The Spine asked, idly plucking the strings of his guitar. All three pairs of green eyes locked onto each other, Mabel was grinning widely.  
"You're in Gravity Falls, Oregon!" she stated excitedly. Spine looked curious.  
"O-re-gon? never been there before" he replied, Dipper raised an eyebrow.  
"Where did you come from, then?" he asked, his voice was soft and inquisitive.

"I perform in San Diego, mostly, with my brother and sister as well as our technicians. We've been to places like California, though, and soon we were going to go to the UK. What's it like here?" he asked, his green-eyed gaze never leaving the young twins.  
"It's kinda weird, but it's cool here" Dipper replied with a shrug.

"We're not from here either" Mabel added. "You see, we're from California and we came to stay here with our uncles for the summer. Anyways, do you remember how you got here?"  
Spine gave an exact replica of a sad smile, glancing down in 'thought'.  
"I honestly don't know. I apologize, Mabel. Maybe I got delivered here by mistake" Spine replied, snapping his head back up.  
"Maybe, but that's kind of a good thing. I mean, you get to be somewhere you haven't been before, plus I guarantee that you'll make some new fans here in this town. Who knows? maybe your brother and sister will find you?" Dipper suggested, keeping an eye on the automaton in curiosity.  
He seemed intrigued at how Spine's eyes glimmered and functioned, as if they were real and not mere photo-receptors. The pupils seemed to constrict as if to shut some of the sunlight out.  
"HOW is that a good thing, Dipper?! I mean, what if he runs out of batteries? or gets broken? I doubt that whoever made him would like you or Ford messing with him" Mabel exclaimed, her arms folded as she turned to her brother. Dipper shrugged.  
"Actually, I think you'll find tha-" Spine began, before a sound caught the trio's attention.

The brunette male spun around, seeing a few figures approach.  
"Uh-oh! we better get you to safety, The Spine!" Dipper murmured.  
Spine frowned, trying to figure out who was coming towards them; they didn't look like anyone he recognized, not even his scanning of the environment could tell who they were as the figures advanced.  
"Alright, whereabouts do you live, you two?" Spine asked.  
"The Mystery Shack, but it's a little way away from here" Mabel admitted sheepishly.  
"Just follow my brother! I'll distract whoever it is."

She stayed to see who it was as Dipper and The Spine began to walk away, but before they could get the titanium alloy automaton a safe distance away, a blonde girl with big hoop earrings strutted towards the brunette, a snarky-looking smirk on her face. Two of her friends were on either flank, looking equally as mean as their 'leader'.

"What on earth are you two losers doing?!" Pacifica asked, one hand on her hip.  
Dipper heard this remark, standing behind the tent with The Spine, praying that they didn't get spotted.  
"Nothing!" Dipper blurted out, coming out from behind the sky blue tent. Pacifica scoffed and crossed her arms. "Oh, really? I know you two are hiding something"  
"We're not hiding anything more than usual. And last time I checked, we don't have to answer to you" Mabel retorted.  
The blonde rolled her eyes.  
"Duh! you don't work for my family!" Pacifica retorted with a sassy flip of her golden hair.

Dipper gulped softly, his green eyes widened a little.  
The Spine frowned when he heard the snide comments and the bickering.  
Of course, he couldn't feel emotions as a human was able to, being a robot and all, but from the values that had been 'taught' to him, he knew he had to protect the twins. Dipper looked at Mabel with a nervous expression, turning back to Pacifica who seemed to visibly relax after everyone had gone.

Checking she wasn't being watched, she gave the Pines twins a sorrowful look.  


"I'm so sorry about being mean, you two. It's just you guys get to have all these adventures and do fun things while my parents want me to be this 'perfect poster child', y'know?" she sighed, giving one final apologetic look, the blonde then turning to leave.  
"W-wait, you don't have to leave!" Dipper started, reaching out a hand to Pacifica who had taken a few steps away.  
The blonde looked over to the brunette twins, sorrow in her eyes. Her posture visibly dropped as she hugged herself, the breeze rippling her purple skirt and making her long blonde hair wave in the breeze.  
Meanwhile Mabel was pretty much just shocked into silence, she'd never got to see this side of her, unlike Dipper who'd seen a small part of it before.

"No it's okay.. It was dumb of me to think I could hang out with you two.. Plus I'd get in trouble anyways if my parents found out.." Pacifica continued to walk away.  
"Pacifica, it's fine. You can stay" Dipper said kindly, a small grin on his face.  
"Are you sure? you know I'll just have to act mean again just for appearances. I mean if someone told my parents I wasn't acting like myself it'd be disastrous. To say the least" Pacifica reminded them, walking over to the pair.

There was a hiss and a few click sounds as Spine moved, Dipper and Mabel both visibly stiffened at the sound, seeming to be frozen like statues in fear.  
Pacifica flinched when she heard the strange sound, looking over at the twins as if it was their doing, her heart pounded when she saw a shadow by the Tent of Telepathy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long chapter, and the cliffhanger.  
> More is coming soon :)


	5. Metal Man, Quick Plans!

Pacifica squeaked when she heard the unfamiliar sounds, an unpleasant shudder running through her body when she looked around for the source of the sound. "S-so... What you two are hiding.. It's not dangerous right? If so I'm leaving right now." Pacifica informed the twins.  
"No, no, he's not dangerous" Dipper informed her, the blonde visibly relieved at these words.  
Mabel couldn't help but laugh a bit at this, glancing at Dipper. "It's not dangerous but.. Can you keep a secret?"

"It's really important" Dipper added.  
"If you two can keep it a secret I'm out here hanging out with you all instead of taking harp lessons.I mean, I already paid off my teacher to say I was there the entire time...." Pacifica bargained, holding out a hand.  
"Course" Dipper replied with a shrug, shaking her hand. After doing so, he turned to the back of the tent. "Spine? can you come out one second?"  
"Pinkie promise!" Mabel grinned then looked over at where Spine was, "yeah it's okay! She's a friend."  
"Don't use that word so openly or freely" Pacifica murmured.She went quiet and waited for the Spine person to show themselves. 

The hissing and clicking of gears were audible again while The Spine strode purposefully towards the twins from behind the sky blue tent, guitar in hand. He tipped his fedora at Pacifica.   
"Pacifica, meet The Spine. The Spine, meet Pacifica" Dipper introduced.  
"Hello." Pacifica did a curtsy more out of habit then anything else.  
"Nice to meet you, Pacifca" the titanium-alloy automaton replied politely with a small grin on his black lips.

Mabel grinned a bit, thinking for a second before turning to the trio. "Hey lets get him back to the shack. You mind helping Pacifica, bro-bro?"  
"Ok" Dipper said with a similar expression to his sister's.

Pacifica hummed as she mulled over her thoughts. "I suppose I could help. But you two better have a plan in mind. I don't think we could take him in the limo unless I paid my driver off."  
"Well, if we can make a distraction while Mabel goes over with him?"Dipper proposed. 

"Hmm.. That might work. The window separating him from looking at us is tinted, and the controls are in the back seat.."

//A/N: This is where the RP stopped, but I'm gonna continue the story for ya! :D (plus another online follower and I have picked up where we left off, so more to come)//

"Well, it'd probably be a little obvious if we took an automaton in a limousine, plus some potential fans in town might get the wrong idea" Mabel added, Spine looking from person to person.  
"What do you think, Spine?"

Spine snapped his gaze to Mabel.  
"I think you're right. Plus I'm not entirely sure if there is a route directly to the shack from here. Maybe if we play it safe for now and walk there, that way we'll draw minimal attention to ourselves" he told them.

The trio nodded and murmured in agreement, Mabel taking Spine's cold metal hand into her own.  
"Great! let's go before someone spots us!" she announced, starting to walk towards the shack, Pacifica and Dipper walking behind the tall automaton.

**Author's Note:**

> Heya, ScorpioSnoopy666 here :)  
> Please feel free to check out my other stories on here, and have a good time reading this. More on the way


End file.
